Ramblings, Thoughts and Rants from an Urban Dweller Living in Dignowity Hill, San Antonio Texas

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The photographs of San Antonio and Dignowity Hill used within this blog are the property of Juan A Garcia East Light Images. All rights are reserved to the owner. Copy and use of these pictures is forbidden without written permission. Contact Juan at jagarciatx@gmail.com for permission.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Our little corner of the world has been getting a lot of attention lately. All of sudden there seems to be a "perfect storm" of initiatives, projects and renewed energy converging upon our quiet neighborhood. One initiative that has the most potential for really changing the face of the Dignowity Hill is the Eastside Reinvestment Plan. The plan is an outgrowth of a city Strategic Community Plan that was developed a few years ago. The initial focus of the reinvestment plan will be on Dignowity Hill and if this plan comes to together as envisioned our neigborhood will experience positive change like never before! This plan has the potential to bring improvements in infrastructure, better lighting, improved streets and sidwewalks, improvements to our parks, raising the awareness of the historical nature of our neigborhood and other key quality of life improvements.The first public meeting to introduce the plan and get community input was held this past week. The attendance was incredible, 113 people signed in and the head count came in at 132! That's a good sign.....it means that folks are interested but most importantly they want to provide input. Some challenges that I see: financial resources will need to be secured, so funding sources will need to identified. We also need to overcome a healthy dose of skepticism within the community that this will actually come to fruition.But, I'm hopeful that this initiative will eventually deliver the goods.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Sometimes it takes the wisdom of Solomon to find a balance between the greater good and the interests or concerns of individuals. Take for example the issue of serving the poor in our neighborhood. There are numerous ministries or programs in our neighborhood that provide services to folks that are homeless, dealing with addictions, unemployed or barely making a livable income. As our neighborhood has revitalized these social ministry programs have become lightning rods of concern as we all struggle to find a way to coexist and yet keep the momentum going on the road to continued renewal. There's a perception out there that these types of social outreach programs can be detrimental to the revitalization of a community. The notion here is that these types of programs attract and bring "undesirable elements" into our quiet neighborhood and that having these "elements" in our community will have a negative affect on property values, the safety of our community and feed the negative perception of the Eastside. There may be some validity to that notion yet if we look in our own backyard you're likely to see neglect in the form of empty houses and overgrown and trashy empty lots. This kind of neglect contributes to the "broken window" theory of community apathy and does nothing to improve or erase old perceptions about the Eastside.So I get a little confused when we focus our attention on these ministries yet there seems to be little that we do or can do about absentee landlords, that we allow trash to lie along our streets, that we allow dogs to run free in the neighborhood, that houses go unpainted, that empty lots are neglected....you get the picture.

The point of this rant: The poor and the needy will always be with us so we need to be compassionate and find ways to provide dignity...that's called service. As residents of this community we can do something about maintaining our homes and our lots, we can push the city for infrastructure improvements....that's called responsibility. Finding that balance between service and community responsibility takes a relationship. And like all relationships it takes a little bit of give and take to reach a healthy balance between the visions of those that feel called to serve and those of us that feel that this community could be even better.

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About Me

I'm a life long resident of San Antonio. I'm a lover of old houses, architecture, old neighborhoods, history, photography, art, good food and old cemeteries. My wife, Barb and I move into Dignowity Hill in 2007 after restoring our current home. Our house was built in 1909. The house, which we named Rose, has brought us immense joy living in it and being a part of the Dignowity community. We are both active in community activities and truly believe in the notion of building community.

About Dignowity Hill

Dignowity Hill is located on the near east side, 2 miles from downtown San Antonio. Found on the National Historic Registry of Neighborhoods, it is named for Anthony Michael Dignowity, a Czech-American writer, public official and medical doctor who was born in Kuttenburg, Bohemia in 1810.

Dignowity immigrated to the US in 1831. He came to San Antonio from Nachez, Mississippi with a group of volunteers for the Mexican War. Dr. Dignowity built his home, often called Harmony House, on a hillside with a fine view of downtown San Antonio. The land remains as present day Dignowity Park. Dignowity sold plots of the surrounding land with its fine breezes to his various well-heeled friends.Noted San Antonio families such as the Friedrichs, Elmendorfs, Lockwoods and Otts built homes in this area. According to the San Antonio Historic Society, the area was first settled as estates with one house per block in the 1850’s. The homes were typically two story, constructed of limestone and brick, and reflected the best designs of their time.

Dignowity Hill Historic District: within the boundaries of the neighborhood lies the Dignowity Hill Historic District. The district was established to preserve the unique cultural and historic character of the area.

Revitalization: The neighborhood is currently experiencing a surge of revitalization as investors and property owners are restoring some of the grand old homes in the area. The neighborhood is centrally located with easy access to downtown San Antonio. St. Paul Square, the Alamodome, the Carver Cultural Center, restaurants and other attractions are easily accessible from the neighborhood.